Wednesday, November 22, 2006

What Does This Orchid Look Like?

This is the Bee Orchid, Ophrys Apifera. It resembles a bee in order to attract other bees, who attempt to mate with it. In the process they gather the flower’s pollen and transport it to other flowers, fertilizing them. The Bee Orchid is terrestrial, meaning that, unlike many orchids, it grows directly in the soil and is deciduous. Most non-tropical orchids share these qualities. This plant is common in parts of England and Europe. Here is a picture of the whole flower stalk.

This is really strange. I thought I submitted a comment to this post last week, but it's not here. Odd.

Before I scrolled down to see that it resembles a bee, I thought to myself, it looks like the head of a giraffe, of all things. Don't know why, but that's what it looks like to me. Beautiful photography, Jonah.